Fall is a great time to fish. Our local waterways will see an abundance
of forage fish and other aquatic life that give the trout plenty of food
to fatten up on before the onset of winter. There is plenty of activity
around the shop including a great Fall Sale and many people are taking
advantage of our complete gear packages which also includes free
instruction. Further information on these packages can be found on our
website page marked “store”. Charlie Bates is tying
some great local patterns for us and many of you have complimented our
new website designed by Mike McAuliffe. Contact him at
shanwebmaster@gmail.com. If
you are new to the area or the sport, we also offer a premium guide
service both in the Gorge and at the Raritan Inn, a recently renovated
Bed and Breakfast located on 24 acres just north of Califon. Customers
are beginning to book group trips at the Inn and all have been thrilled
with the fly-fishing for trophy trout and the site both as a meeting
place and for its genteel accommodations., The Raritan Inn will be
kicking off a series of art events with a show by local landscape artist
Dan Mulligan the weekend of October 6- 8, 2006. Dan’s work includes many
local scenes and is very collectable investment grade work. Check out
their site www.raritaninn.com for more details.

With increased flows and additional Fall Stockings beginning this year
on October 1st in Ken Lockwood Gorge, it is now possible to resume some
standard practices with regards to your fishing approach. Also remember
that Daylight Savings Time lasts into November this year. Any extra
daylight always helps. Nymph tandems catch serious amounts of fish and
most guides I know employ them to produce good catches for their
customers many of whom are just getting into the sport. The methods I
will describe don’t involve the use of complicated knots and are
generally limited to using two flies. Three or more flies can also be
fished this way but the primary method of tying multiple flies in this
manner involves tying them “In Line” which simply means that they are
placed directly on the line in intervals. This method is very effective
but can be difficult to rig up. Instead, I like tying off the bend of
the hook because it is much simpler and produces a great many fish and
takes advantage of the current to give the trailing fly a great deal of
action.

Generally speaking, there are three main ways to fish tandems. The first
is the classic “High Stick” method. This involves the use of a strike
indicator. A good rule of thumb is to place the strike indicator based
on the depth of the water that you’re fishing. A good estimate here
would be to place the indicator on your leader twice the distance of the
depth of the water plus one foot. So, if you are fishing in a run of
three feet place the strike indicator seven feet from your lead fly (the
first fly tied to your leader or tippet). The strike indicator helps to
pick up the sometime subtle takes of the trout and also serves to add a
little buoyancy to the nymphs keeping the just off bottom. This method
allows the angler to seriously cover water upstream, across and just
down stream of the angler and if you take your time, cover water
methodically. It is also not uncommon to fish a small emerger or wet fly
as the trailing fly because the second fly tends to ride up in the
current. Choices for the emerger should be anything that may be hatching
later that day or even hatching during your time on the water. A couple
of important notes should be applied here too. First, the larger fly
should be placed in front and the second fly should be tied off of the
bend of the hook of the first fly. There are different opinions on this
but I’ve had my best success using this approach. Second, any weight
applied to this rig should be placed ahead of the first fly and never in
between the two flies.

The second method to use is the “Greased Line” method. Here there is no
strike indicator. The flies are cast just above and allowed to drift
past the angler. Here it is very important to turn the rod downstream
and allow a downstream loop to form in the line. This allows for a
presentation that brings the flies across the current presenting
broadside to the fish. Raise or lower the rod to maintain a drift at the
same rate as the current to attain the necessary the “drag free drift”.
I watched my partner, Eric Hildebrant, land thirty nine trout using this
method during the Hendrickson hatch back in early May and it works year
round. In high water, this tactic is deadly using a Wooly Bugger as the
lead fly and a Prince nymph or Hare’s Ear nymph as the trailer.

The third productive method involves the combination of a dry fly and
either a nymph, emerger, or wet. This is the classic “Dropper Method”.
Tie on a dry that floats very well. Two good options here are an Elk
Hair Caddis or any of the various Wulf dry flies. About two to three
feet from this fly, and I like to tie all of them off of the bend of the
hook, tie the second fly. This is a great way to get at suspended fish
that may be resting a foot or more above the bottom. Trout tend to feed
on food in front and above them rather than looking to the bottom. Fish
holding on the bottom will feed there but they will also swim up to take
prey. This use of forward thrust gives the trout the maximum advantage.

Young of the year baitfish: Dace, Chubs, Fallfish, and White Suckers
provide plenty of opportunity to fish streamers such as Black Nose Dace,
Mickey Finn, Grey Ghost, and a personal favorite, the Ken Lockwood
Streamer originated by the late columnist and conservationist himself.
Yes, the Gorge is named after him. Another fly favored by Shannon’s
Co-owner George Cassa is the South Branch Chub originated by Bob Jaclyn
now a famous Western guide. He got his start on local streams in Western
New Jersey and this fly is a dead ringer for an important baitfish, the
Brook Spine Stickleback.

A short selection of flies for fall fishing would definitely include
Blue Winged Olives and Blue Quills size 16-20. This fly is a decent
imitation for the several Baetis hatches we’ll enjoy. For the Baetis
nymph, use a size 16-20 Pheasant Tail nymph. Isonychia will be active
through September. For the dry fly action, use an Iso Dun, a Dun
Variant, Iso Parachute or even an Adams size 12-14. Whiteflies are well
imitated by either a White Wulf size 10-12 or a White Miller size 12.
Generally speaking, look for Isonychia and Whiteflies at dusk in
September. In October, look for more Blue Wing Olives (Baetis) to be
active along with Tan Caddis size 16-18 and the Pale Evening Dun or
Adams for the Paraleptophlebia debilis size 18. A winning approach to
dry fly fishing in October would be to fish Olives during the day along
with Caddis from the late morning through the early afternoon. Look for
a continuation of Caddis activity but towards dusk you’ll see the little
“Paralepts” as they’re generally known begin to garner interest from the
trout. Finally, a small Parachute Adams size 18 or Rusty Spinner size
16-18 are good choices for the spinner fall.

Finally, don’t neglect terrestrials. Ants and Hoppers catch plenty of
fish in the fall. Check our website www.shannonsflytackle.com for
special events, programs, and sales. The Fall Sale starts Labor Day
Weekend. We will be offering Saturday morning on-stream clinics along
with a number of guest tiers stopping by in the afternoon and free fly
tying lessons too on Sunday mornings with George and Eric. We ask you to
try and register for these events. Just give us a call. These programs
are a great way to brush up on technique or to introduce a new person to
the sport. See you in the shop.-JH